DUE TO THE MATURE NATURE OF THIS REVIEW, AND THE FACT THAT SOME WHO READ THIS MAY NOT BE MATURE, ALL EXPLETIVES WILL BE REPLACED BY THE RELATIVELY HARMLESS WORD “BUNNY”. (PS: all pictures of Rob Schneider by Amos Wong for LAMC. The rest by, er, me.)
Politics, sex and a slew of bunny jokes. That’s what the 1,400-strong audience was treated to on Friday night at the Rock Auditorium – a far cry from the usual services that venue is associated with.
Yes, Rob Schneider was in town as part of his stand-up world tour – the first time he’s doing stand-up in over two decades. The actor – best known for movies such as Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo and Big Stan – had said he was excited about coming back after 10 years (for the Deuce Bigelow promo tour).
Before the show, a fellow journo and I were betting how it would take before someone in the crowd would heckle Schneider with “You can do it!”, the now-iconic line he uttered in the Adam Sandler movie, The Waterboy, that has become sort of a catchphrase for him now.
As turned out it took only 30 seconds. And Schneider beat everybody to the punch. “Hi Singapore, you can do it!” he exclaimed, before going on with some localised commentary (“I asked about crossing Scotts Road and the guy said, “Go down to the underpass, pass the 5,000 shops then get to the other side where you pass another 2,000 shops, Chanel, Chanel, the other Chanel, Gucci, Gucci, another Gucci, another Chanel and turn left”).
As for the heckling, that came almost immediately too. “Boston Red Sox! California bunny!” yelled one man.
“Couldn’t you wait till I was two minutes into the show before heckling?” retorted Schneider. “Boston Red Sox? In front of 1,300 people – and that’s all you got?”
He later picked on a man who had to leave during his set. “I bet he’s got to go pee again before the show is over… just hold it in, man.”
He pulled no punches when it came taking pot shots at the Obama administration (“It’s about change! Yes, take all the dollars we have and turn them into change!”); the state of Americans’ dependence on pharmaceutical drugs (“There’s a woman who has to take 26 different prescriptions – she has to get up at 4am just to start!”); and his friend Adam Sandler, whom he “blames” for saddling him with the iconic “you can do it” line.
And yes, there was an ample serving of toilet humour and several scoops of pee-pee jokes (“I’m half-Jewish, half-Filipino – the perfect storm of small bunnies,”) into his mixing bowl of jokes which had the audience roaring with laughter.
After the show, Schneider came out to the lobby to sign autographs and take pictures. But Schneider, though looking a little bushed, didn’t appear to be. He was shooting the breeze with his fans and taking pictures with everybody, including the crew and the organisers. By the time we got our autograph, it was past midnight.
However, we had a pleasant surprise, as even before Schneider’s M18-rated show started, we were treated to a short segment with local comedians Wayne and Jing (I hope I got this spelling right!). Schneider had said that he wanted to give local comedians a chance to perform on the big stage (they currently perform at the regular Comedy Masala show every Tuesday night at Home Club), because that happened to him. Apparently, superstar comedian Robin Williams offered Schneider, who was 15 at the time, a slot before his own show went on.
This was Schneider’s way of paying it forward, as it were. While the latter opted for funny personal anecdotes about his cat and grandmother’s ghost, stating that she didn’t like that joke “because she’s still alive”; the latter went for the jugular – lambasting everything including his sex life (“My girlfriend says having sex with me is like Bruce Lee – you know he has this one-inch punch…”), and offering topical commentaries: Such as Like the reason why the birth rate here is falling is “because sex is not an exam subject”.
From the way, the crowd received the two young comedians, it was a great headstart for them. Who knows whether Wayne or Jing will make a career out of it, but at least they’ve got the gumption to take that first step. If nothing else, they’re a breath of fresh air from the usual selection of japes from the likes of Kumar or Hossan Leong.
If you like stand-up comedy, check out Comedy Masala at Home Club, Riverwalk. (http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=135366359834463 ) Here’s what they say is happening tomorrow…
This Tues we have 2 debuts and 2 special appearances by HK and UK comics! 16 open micers on stage, each with 5 mins to make you LYFAO.
Also, BEST drinks offer in town – 2 drinks for $12 all night – you CANNOT beat that.
Starts 9.15pm, Entry $10 (includes 1 drink), Happy Hour ALL NIGHT – 2 for $12
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